Joan Brosnan Walsh

Joan Brosnan Walsh (29 June 1938 – 20 December 2009) was a veteran Irish actress, best known for her long-running role as the character Mags Kelly on the Irish soap opera Fair City, a role she had played for almost twenty years, from 18 September 1989 until her final screen appearance on 11 January 2009.

Brosnan Walsh appeared in a number of films such as The Boxer and Fatal Inheritance. She also worked as a costume designer.

Early life and career Brosnan Walsh was born in 1938 in Greystones, County Wicklow. She had two other siblings but her mother died when she was young. An aunt raised her in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin.

Brosnan Walsh attended the Dominican Convent on Eccles Street before pursuing a career with market researcher ACNielsen. In 1956, she moved to Aer Lingus where she first experienced acting alongside the Metro Players, an amateur group of players which included her colleagues.

Brosnan Walsh designed costumes for The Secret Marriage produced by the Irish National Opera in 1976. She acted with Mobile Theatre and Team Theatre Company throughout the 1970s and 1980s, appearing on stage in The Puppeteer from Lodz (1986), The Year of the Hiker at the Gaiety (1990) and The Mother (1997). She was a member of the Backlane Painters, with whom she exhibited and sold her work. She was then diagnosed the following Spring.

Brosnan Walsh also spoke about her character and time in Fair City: I loved the character of Mags, foil to Charlie's shenanigans and I particularly enjoyed her strong relationship with, for example, Dolores, Rita, Dermot and Jo. I really enjoyed playing her. The audience presented her with a standing ovation at the end. the cast of Fair City released the following tribute: "She was warm and lovely in person, a consummate professional and a delight to work with. A talented actress, singer and artist who bore her illness with incredible dignity, she will be very much missed around Carrigstown".

Jane Gogan, RTÉ's drama recruiter, said "She has been at the heart of Fair City for the last 20 years and was without doubt one of its most popular characters. She was also one of the most warmly regarded colleagues in RTÉ and will be greatly missed by the Fair City cast and crew and all who worked with her in RTÉ, as well as her host of fans throughout the country".

Selected filmography

Film Year Title Role Other notes 1993 Fatal Inheritance Mrs. O'Toole 1997 The Boxer Mrs. Orr

Awards In 1969 she was a cast member of The Caucasian Chalk Circle Strand Players production and they won the Esso Trophy at the All-Ireland Drama Festival held in Athlone, County Westmeath.